Soft Chocolate Bread

Brand: 7-11

Cost: 138 yen

Found at: Narita Airport 7-11

Last year, I resolved to eat healthier. In fact, I have been making this same resolution for the past several years – writing it down along with three or four other resolutions that I think about for two or three days and then lose in a drawer. It’s not a very effective method of behavior change, but it is a very effective way of making me feel unhappy.

So, this year, I have resolved to make no resolutions. I will not learn a foreign language, I will not save a fortune, and I will not eat healthy – or if I do, it will a conscious decision when the time is right, and not because I’ve put it on a list. There’s just no point in continuing a tradition that does not achieve its desired results.

So, to celebrate, I am ending the year how I want to begin it – with chocolate bread. Chocolate bread is something that is not unique to Japan, but it is something that appears more often here than it does in my home state of Washington. It’s essentially just Cocoa flavored bread with a smattering of chocolate chips. It’s lightly sweet and extremely carb-y and rides the fine line between pastry and cake. Toasted and served with peanut butter, it can be a comforting dessert after a long day, or a sweet breakfast to pair with a cup of tea. It’s not healthy, and there’s not a diet in the world that would condone it, but now and then, it’s exactly what I need. Life’s too short not to eat some chocolate bread now and then, so here’s to the things that make us happy!

And Happy New Year to everyone out there. May 2019 be full of tasty treats and happy memories!